Group Therapy
by baby gyrl
Summary: Sam, Dean, Castiel, and Gabriel have to deal with each other in group therapy. Minor character spoilers through 5.08 Changing Channels. Rated for language.
1. The Woman in White

Group Therapy

Session 1. Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot AKA The Woman in White

Note: These sessions happen the night after the end of the episode unless otherwise stated.

November 3, 2005

Dean and Sam Winchester exchanged looks with each other. They were in a large conference room, with a circle of chairs with two empty spots on either side of the circle. The other chairs were occupied by three men: one of them an older gentleman who looked thin and frail, the other two were of an age with Dean, one with longer hair who was sitting with his arms cross and looked like a pounting child who doesn't like his punishment, and the other one had brilliant blue eyes and was looking around intently, studying everything.

Dean shrugged and took a seat, and Sam followed suit. When everyone was seated, the older man stood up and addressed the seated men.

"Thank you all for coming here today. I'm glad that you all have agreed to meet today."

This statement was met with confusion and some anger.

"Agreed to what?"

"How the hell did we get here?"

"Where the hell are we?"

"I didn't agree to anything, old man."

The voices rose, cutting each other off before the older gentleman, who seemed to be responsible for the gathering, raised his voice, saying, "Quiet." Everybody shut up. "Thank you. Now, since not everybody knows everybody, let's start with introductions."

"Sure," Dean agreed. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am not important, child. I am merely a vehicle for your enrichment. You may call me the mediator, if you need to call me anything. now, if you would please state your name for the group."

"Dean," Dean muttered. "And this is my brother, Sam," he continued, gesturing to his brother.

The long-haired hippie sitting across the circle spoke next. "I'm Gabriel, and this is my brother Castiel, since apparently the kiddies can't speak up for themselves."

"Thank you, Dean, Gabriel. Now that we have all been introduced, I would like to go over the rules.

1. There will be no violence.

2. You will not leave until I say you can.

3. Do not interrupt. If you have something to say, then raise your hand and you can talk after the person is done.

4. Be sensitive to others. You may not agree with what they are saying, but their point is equally valid, and they have just as much right to air what they are feeling.

5. This is a safe place. You can say anything here. We are here for you, and to try and air some of these hidden resentments that you all are harboring.

"Now, does anyone have anything they want to start out with for our first session?" the mediator asked.

"First session? How long are you going to continue this farce?" one of the strangers, the one called Castiel asked. "This doesn't seem to serve a purpose. Why are we doing this?"

"Because he's a dick," the other stranger, Gabriel said. "He wants to control us, o brother of mine."

"I don't have time for this. I have things to do. Why can't I leave?" Castiel asked, getting more frustrated by the word.

"No one may leave until we are done. Is thereanything that anyone else would like to discuss?

"Why the hell are we here? I don't even know any of you… except Sammy here. Why the hell do I care about any of your problems and why should I want to share anything with strangers?"

"Ever heard of AA, princess?" Gabriel snarked. "Strangers who bare their souls to other strangers bound by a common thread because they can't share with the people they know."

"So what's our common thread?" Sam couldn't help but ask.

"That's a good question, Sammy. What is the common link that holds us all together? Other than being pulled in here without any warning." Gabriel said.

Dean jumped into the conversation. "Well, we're all siblings. Two sets of brothers."

"Are you two hunters?" Sam asked. Apart from the initial 'What the hell are we doing here' freak-out, all four of the participants were taking this rather well. Sam and Dean were used to strange things happening, but most normal people don't really take getting snatched from their dreams well, so Sam was curious why their companions were being so calm.

"Why? Are you?" Gabriel asked.

"Why should we tell you anything?" Dean demanded.

"Ah, ah, ah, Dean. You heard what the big man said. We can't leave until he says so. So we might as well play along until we're released on good behavior."

"What if I don't want to play along?"

"Then we don't get out of here, and it's all your fault. Do you want to be responsible for us being trapped in here forever and ever?"

The mediator saved Dean from having to respond by saying, "I think that's enough for tonight. Good work everyone."

He snapped his fingers, and the two hunters found themselves waking up in the motel room that they'd settled in for the night.

Sam looked over at Dean, who wore an incredulous look on his face. "Dean, tell me that didn't just happen."

"Cosmic group therapy session with mystery guests?" Sam nodded, confirming that they had the same dreams. "Yeah, let's pretend it didn't, for sanity's sake."

TBC in 1.2 Wendigo

A/N: Each chapter will be an episode, but I may decide to have intermediary chapters between sessions to explore what may change as a result of these sessions.


	2. Wendigo

A/N: This chapter has some strong language.

Session 2. Season 1, episode 2: Wendigo

Dean was mildly surprised to find himself in the vaguely familiar meeting room with Sammy and the three strangers. The older man who was called the Mediator and the gentlemen called Gabriel and Castiel. After the last weird dream, Dean had done some research on the names Gabriel and Castiel to see if he could find out who these freaks are.

"You're angels," Dean stated, taking a seat in one of the chairs, wasting no time getting down to business. "The Archangel Gabriel, and the angel Castiel."

Gabriel laughed. "Oh, we are a clever boy, aren't we? And have we figured out who our host is?"

Sam turned to stare at his brother during his little speech. Dean, actually doing his own research? Sure, he could if he had to, but he generally foisted it off on Sam if he could. This had to be a dream. "When the hell did you find time to figure that out? We've been in the woods, in the middle of nowhere for days. And why the fuck didn't you tell me anything? since when do we keep secrets from each other?"

What, you didn't immediately try and figure out the latest in our fucked up lives? Oh, that's right. You just want to go back to school and forget about everything and just be 'normal.'" Dean's tone of voice made normal sound like the worst thing in the world. "Well guess what, Sammy? You're never going to be normal. We" – he gestured between himself and his brother – "can never be normal. Not with the shit we've done, the shit we've seen. Or did you avoid the news like the plague while you were playing house with your girlfriend? Cause you sure as hell wouldn't have just ignored the signs if you saw them."

When Sam didn't react, Dean kept pushing. "Or did you? Sam, tell me you didn't just ignore the weird shit that you saw in the papers."

"Dean, I had a hard enough time focusing on school. When would I have had time to look at a paper?"

Gabriel chuckled as he shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth. He held out the bag to Castiel, commenting, "This is better than Jerry Springer."

Castiel replied, "I still don't understand why we are here. What is the purpose of this assignment?"

"You haven't had much experience with humans, so I'll break it down for you, young Padawan." Gabriel turned from watching the Winchester brothers to talk with Castiel, seemingly ignoring the humans. "These boys have probably grown up in the life, and Sam, the younger brother, went off to school while Dean, the older brother, stayed and did his duty. Now they've reconnected, but Dean's still upset about Sam wanting to walk away from the family. I'm going to say codependence paired with abandonment issues." He turned to find the brothers glaring at him. "Am I on the right track?"

"How the fuck is that any of your business?" Dean yelled, seconds away from lunging at the annoying angel.

"Actually, I think it might be," Castiel interrupted. "We're forced to be here for a reason. Might it be to give you a place to air your grievances?"

"What? Somebody translate." Dean looked from Castiel to Gabriel to Sam and back.

"I think – and please, jump in if I'm not making sense – that he means that we-" Sam gestured to the room at large, "all have some unresolved issues, unless you want to say that you angels are perfect. Someone," he looked meaningfully at the Mediator, "thought that the only way to get us to deal with our issues would be to force us. So, he's forcing. But why?"

"So, a couple of dysfunctional human brothers who seek out and kill anything unnatural and a couple of angels. Why the fuck does anyone care enough to try and 'fix' us? Or make us 'fix' ourselves?" Dean asked, looking from one face to another, seeing the puzzlement in his companions' faces. He turned to the Mediator, asking, "Are you God? Cause I'm starting to think you're God."

Gabriel burst out laughing. "You really think the big guy would show his face to a couple of measly humans? Get real."

"Well, who else has the power to order angels around? And why would angels deign to interact with a couple of 'measly humans' other than at God's word?" Sam sniped back. "I don't see you throwing out any answers, just shooting ours down. At least we're trying to get something accomplished instead of sitting on our asses like you seem to be doing."

"Wait a second." Dean glared at Gabriel, looking from him to Castiel. "Do you know who he is? That's not fair."

"see, I knew the twelve-year-old hiding under the façade would come out. Are you going to hit me and call 'no backsies' too?"

To diffuse the situation, Sam said, "You know, I actually have a question for our host, here. If this is a dream, then does that mean that we're getting rest while we're here? Or are we losing sleep for this farce?"

"Shared dreaming. The bodies are unconscious or sleeping, but the minds are linked, allowing for a shared dreamspace. It's a fairly standard set-up for visions," Gabriel said in a bored tone.

"How do you know that?"

Gabriel spread his hands out wide and said, "Archangel Gabriel? The Messenger? Heaven's errand boy? Prophecies, visions, dreams – this stuff is what I do. You don't always want to appear in a column of light, you know?"

Sam glanced at the Mediator, who seemed perfectly content to let the group talk amongst themselves. "Can we wrap this up? If this is supposed to be some sort of therapy, I think this is all that you're going to get out of us tonight."

TBC in 1.3 Dead in the Water

A/N: Thank you for those who have read/reviewed. Much thanks to my roommate and beta who got my butt into gear. I also have this story up on tumblr at the address .com, and generally update there first. I hope to get chapters out at a rate of one per week, depending on whether I get a chance to rewatch the episode in question or not. If you have any suggestions about what the boys should talk about, message me, and I may incorporate it. I have some idea of where this is going to go, but it could change.


	3. Dead in the Water

Session 3. Season 1, episode 3. Dead in the Water.

Once again, after the resolution of their latest case, Dean and Sam Winchester found themselves transported to the shared dreamspace that they had become familiar with, along with their new 'friends,' Gabriel and Castiel as well as the mysterious Mediator that oversaw the sessions. Sam sighed, resigning himself to the fact that, once again, his fate was not in his own hands.

It seemed like Sam was not the only one who was annoyed with the fact that someone was toying with their lives, as Castiel was sitting with his arms crossed, looking for all the world like a petulant child.

Gabriel once again was shoveling popcorn into his mouth. "So, what's on the agenda today, kiddies? More _touching_ brotherly love?"

"Why don't you start, then, since you're so eager to share?" Dean asked. "Oh, right. Angels are perfect."

"Hey now! Don't be putting words into my mouth! I never said I was perfect. Who wants to be perfect? Perfect's boring."

"So spill." Dean leaned forward, staring at Gabriel with an intense gaze. "Isn't that why we're here? You don't just get to play spectator to everything."

"Oh, please. Like I'm going to just tell a couple of humans all my dirty little secrets."

Sam gave a dry laugh. "Why not? We're stuck here anyway, what do you have to lose?"

Gabriel made a thinking pose, and said, "Gee, let me see. You guys routinely seek out and kill anything that you may deem 'unnatural.' Is it so hard to think that you might just decide to add a couple angels to your short list? How is being genocidal murderers working out for you, anyway?"

Dean stood up angrily. "You know what? I don't have to take this." He glared at the Mediator. "You may not let me leave, but I don't have to be in the middle of this." Dean took his chair and dragged it over to the corner of the room where he sat and glared at the other men.

"So you can talk to the kid about Mom, but you refuse to talk to anyone else? Mature." Sam snapped at his brother. He was getting tired of Dean's attitude about everything. With Dad being gone and Sam and Dean being forced to share dreams periodically, the least Dean could do was go along with the whole therapy deal.

Gabriel leaned forward, putting a "tell me more" expression on his face. "What kid? You have a kid you didn't share with the group, Deano?"

Dean stared stonily at Gabriel, refusing to answer. The silence continued until Sam answered for his brother. "Lucas is a kid involved in the case we were working. The kid's dad was killed by a vengeful spirit, and seeing his dad killed like that must have triggered psychic tendencies. He helped us figure out the case, and Dean apparently has a soft spot for him."

Dean shrugged. "What can I say? I like kids."

"Since when?" Sam asked.

Gabriel broke into the conversation, holding up a hand. "Hold up a sec. You guys needed a kid to solve your case for you? Ha! And here I was thinking I had something to worry about."

"You'll have to worry about a hell of a lot more when we're through with this!" Dean shouted. He made a silent, solemn vow to figure out what the hell could hurt an angel.

The Mediator frowned. This wasn't going at all like he expected it to. "Dean, please join the circle. I think Sam has a valid point. What do you feel like you could share with Lucas that you don't want to share with the group?"

As much as he didn't want to be a part of the group, Dean feared (not fear, more like warily cautious of) the Mediator and what he could do to Dean more. So Dean dragged his chair back over to the group and sat down again. "Yeah, I guess I kind of related to the kid, with Mom's death and all."

"Your mother died?" Castiel asked.

Dean nodded. "I was four. Sammy was only a baby."

Castiel nodded. "I am sorry that your mother died, Dean. Sam."

Dean continued, "There was a fire in the middle of the night. Dad shoved Sammy into my arms and told me to take him outside. I barely got us outside in time. When I was older, Dad told me that it wasn't a normal fire, that some_thing_ killed Mom and started the fire. After the fire, Dad was obsessed with finding out what could have done something like that. Still is. Still hasn't figured out what the hell it is. Whatever it is, same thing killed Sammy's girl Jess a couple weeks ago."

Castiel seemed drawn into Dean's storytelling. "How do you know it was the same thing?"

Dean shrugged. "Same MO. I dropped Sammy off after getting back from Jericho, and I did get you back before Monday, I told you I would, and Jess is pinned to the ceiling, somehow. And then the fire started. It has to be the same thing."

"Well it wasn't me, I'll tell you that for free," Gabriel cracked, trying to lighten the somber mood.

"Great. One down, thousands to go. I'll add you to the pile of 'things that didn't kill my mom,'" Dean replied with a smirk. He looked at the Mediator, and asked, "That enough soul-searching for one day? Can we go now?"

The Mediator sighed. At this rate, the plans to have well adjusted Winchester brothers wouldn't come to fruition until well past their natural lifespans. But, progress was progress.


End file.
